Hosanna in the Highest

(Mark 11:1-10)

From the mouths of babes the Lord brought perfect praise. This is what Jesus said in another version of this section of scripture. As he rode on the colt of an ass (which was to fulfil prophecy) the people laid down leafy branches and and their garments when he rode to Jerusalem.

Jesus entry into Jerusalem could not be hidden. He had come ready to die at the hands of the chief priests and scribes as it was written of him in prophecy hundreds of years earlier. He was the king, or rather is the King of Kings, but he was to be rejected finally by those who should have recognised him but did not.

The interesting scripture that caught my eye in this section was verse 10. It reads, “Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that is coming. Hosanna in the highest!”

What is interesting in this scripture is the fact that the people seemed to recognise that the kingdom was not here yet. They said it “is coming” indicating a future kingdom.

That kingdom has now arrived even though we do not see it with our eyes. The kingdom of God is a spiritual kingdom and it will be a physical kingdom at the second coming of Christ. For now though, we have the ability to enter the Kingdom of God through Jesus Christ.

He said, “I am the door.” (John 10:7-9) It is through Jesus that we go into the Kingdom of God and we have that entry available to us now.

How do we enter the door that is Christ? When we are baptised into the name of Jesus Christ we are baptised INTO Jesus. We go through a symbolic death and resurrection as we are immersed in the waters of baptism and then lifted up from the waters. Through faith the Lord tells us to recognise this symbolic death as our real death and rebirth as new creations in Jesus Christ. It is by this method that we enter the kingdom of God.

But then there is more for it is not enough to simply go through the door and stand at the threshold. We must be prepared and changed in preparation to meet the Master. We must be clothed in the robes of righteousness that will give us access to the wedding feast he talks of in Matthew 22:1-14. That work then follows on after we enter into the Kingdom of God through the working of the Holy Spirit.

The work of the Holy Spirit is to transform us into the image of Christ. We are given righteousness through faith when we are baptised and set free from sin and the law. But to live with God we must become like God. We must have the nature of God, for God cannot sin and he cannot live in the presence of sin. Thus it is the work of the holy spirit to transform us into the likeness of God as it shows in 2 Corinthians 3:18, “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being changed into his likeness from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”

So when the people were saying Hosanna in the highest and talking of the kingdom of David that is coming, little did they know at that time that it was closer than they realised. They were expecting Jesus to reign as a king on earth, but his kingdom is a spiritual kingdom. What he has given us is the opportunity to enter that kingdom now and begin the work of transformation that will take us one day into the presence of God.

Now that is something worth shouting about and saying, “Hosanna in the highest!”

(Picture sourced from oChristian.com https://clipart.ochristian.com/)